The pilot was qualified for the flight. There was no pressure on him to return to Lac Csar, particularly because the flight would generate no revenue. The aircraft had no known deficiencies and was maintained in good condition for flight. The pilot checked the local weather with the Lac Csar camp before departing Sainte-Vronique. According to the camp employee, the flying conditions were suitable for the return flight. The pilot did not request a weather briefing from the FIC, nor was he in the habit of doing so. In any event, even if he had checked with the FIC, there was nothing in the forecast to suggest that the weather would be such as he encountered en route. The pilots decision to make the flight was justified. When the conditions deteriorated en route, he delayed making a decision as to whether to turn back or land. It is possible that being close to his destination and being very familiar with the area influenced his decision to continue the flight until he had exhausted all options. The pilot decided to set the ELT to ON even though he had decided to leave the site. This decision may have had adverse consequences if one of the accident aircraft occupants was injured while walking, especially considering that there was no means of communication available to them. As well, with the main reason for activating an ELT being to save lives, theSAR team was deployed in adverse weather, needlessly putting them at risk. It was not unusual for aircraft to not arrive at the destination at the expected time. Consequently, the employee at Lac Csar was not overly concerned. She did not know that the pilot was unable to contact her and inform her of the occurrence because he had not brought his satellite phone with him on this trip. The call received that evening from Lac Gilberte, which became disconnected, gave reason to believe that the flight had diverted due to weather and had landed safely. However, knowing that the aircraft had departed Sainte-Vronique, that it was past its expected arrival time, and that no call had been received to explain why it was late, the emergency plan should have been activated automatically in accordance with the procedure set out in the company operations manual. Not having activated the company emergency plan could have led to grave consequences if the occupants had been seriously injured in this accident.Analysis The pilot was qualified for the flight. There was no pressure on him to return to Lac Csar, particularly because the flight would generate no revenue. The aircraft had no known deficiencies and was maintained in good condition for flight. The pilot checked the local weather with the Lac Csar camp before departing Sainte-Vronique. According to the camp employee, the flying conditions were suitable for the return flight. The pilot did not request a weather briefing from the FIC, nor was he in the habit of doing so. In any event, even if he had checked with the FIC, there was nothing in the forecast to suggest that the weather would be such as he encountered en route. The pilots decision to make the flight was justified. When the conditions deteriorated en route, he delayed making a decision as to whether to turn back or land. It is possible that being close to his destination and being very familiar with the area influenced his decision to continue the flight until he had exhausted all options. The pilot decided to set the ELT to ON even though he had decided to leave the site. This decision may have had adverse consequences if one of the accident aircraft occupants was injured while walking, especially considering that there was no means of communication available to them. As well, with the main reason for activating an ELT being to save lives, theSAR team was deployed in adverse weather, needlessly putting them at risk. It was not unusual for aircraft to not arrive at the destination at the expected time. Consequently, the employee at Lac Csar was not overly concerned. She did not know that the pilot was unable to contact her and inform her of the occurrence because he had not brought his satellite phone with him on this trip. The call received that evening from Lac Gilberte, which became disconnected, gave reason to believe that the flight had diverted due to weather and had landed safely. However, knowing that the aircraft had departed Sainte-Vronique, that it was past its expected arrival time, and that no call had been received to explain why it was late, the emergency plan should have been activated automatically in accordance with the procedure set out in the company operations manual. Not having activated the company emergency plan could have led to grave consequences if the occupants had been seriously injured in this accident. The pilot delayed making a decision as to whether to turn back or land when he saw that the weather was deteriorating. Being close to his destination and being very familiar with the area probably influenced his decision to continue the flight until he had exhausted all options.Finding as to Causes and Contributing Factors The pilot delayed making a decision as to whether to turn back or land when he saw that the weather was deteriorating. Being close to his destination and being very familiar with the area probably influenced his decision to continue the flight until he had exhausted all options. Although the main reason for activating an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is to save lives, the pilot decided to depart the site and leave the ELT set to ON. As a result, the search and rescue team was deployed in unfavourable weather conditions, needlessly putting them at risk. Not having activated the company emergency plan could have led to grave consequences if the occupants of the downed aircraft had been seriously injured.Findings as to Risk Although the main reason for activating an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is to save lives, the pilot decided to depart the site and leave the ELT set to ON. As a result, the search and rescue team was deployed in unfavourable weather conditions, needlessly putting them at risk. Not having activated the company emergency plan could have led to grave consequences if the occupants of the downed aircraft had been seriously injured. There was nothing in the forecast to suggest that the weather would be as the pilot encountered en route. The pilots decision to make the flight was therefore justified.Other Finding There was nothing in the forecast to suggest that the weather would be as the pilot encountered en route. The pilots decision to make the flight was therefore justified.